February 2015 by Marian Cannell and Amy Lewis

Through a partnership with Best Friends Animal Society, Austin Pets Alive! embarked on a six-month pilot program to test the effectiveness of Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Training on adoption rates. The results have been very good and show a clear adoption rate difference between dogs who undergo training and those who don’t. Learn what CGC is and how it is taught and learn how one person oversees a team of volunteers to get over ten dogs a month ready to pass their test. This is well worth your time if you rescue dogs that are big, hyper and unmannered and you operate a large shelter.

About Marian Cannell

Marian Cannell began her work with dogs in 2011 when she was approached with the opportunity to attend a local training academy in Austin, Texas. She decided to leave the sector of private dog training in August 2012 to work at her local shelter, Austin Pets Alive!. In the Spring following, she was invited to join the behavior team under the direction of Mike Kaviani. Shortly after joining the team, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary provided the opportunity for APA! to integrate a new position into the behavior department, the Canine Good Citizen Coordinator. Marian Cannell enthusiastically accepted the position, and is currently working full-time to keep the larger dogs at Austin Pets Alive! enriched, well-trained, and highly adoptable through the CGC Program.

About Amy Lewis

Amy Lewis began working with shelter animals at an early age, volunteer dog walking and fostering for different organizations as she grew up and moved for college. While she attended Texas State University earning a bachelors degree in Zoology, Amy accepted a job at Buddy's Chance Dog Training and Daycare in 2009. After a year managing daycare playgroups and assisting in training classes, she was offered an internship under Cara Shannon (FAR Beyond Dog Training). She completed the internship in 2011 and earned a CCPDT-KA certification through the Council for Certified Pet Dog Trainers. She spent another couple of years working as a lead trainer at Buddy's Chance and in the private dog training sector before hanging up her private training certification and pursuing education and training of shelter dogs. She began working at Austin Pets Alive! in 2013 as a dog counselor and soon became a lead counselor. She was recently invited to the Behavior Program as the Canine Good Citizen Ready Program Trainer and enjoys watching the large dogs at APA! learn and grown into highly adoptable dogs through the CGC program!